Maturino scores 25 points as Las Plumas boys beat Paradise

OROVILLE — Eric Maturino was a marked man three minutes into the game against Paradise High, due in part to the words that came out of the mouth of Bobcats first-year coach Jerry Hight.

After Maturino converted his second 3-pointer and 10th straight point for the Las Plumas High boys basketball team, Hight yelled out, "Let's get a hand on No. 24 now."

The in-game instructions only slowed down, but did not completely shut down, the LP junior guard-small forward, as Maturino went for a game-high 25 points to lead the Thunderbirds past Paradise 70-54 in the consolation semifinals of the 20th annual Dennis Burnum Classic on Friday afternoon at Oroville High.

"I like the extra pressure because it frees up some of our guys, so I can fake a shot, make a pass, then just scoring for the team," said Maturino, who also swished 5 of 8 3-pointers in the win.

The victory gives LP (4-11) another early-season test against league and city rival Oroville — a 58-50 winner over Gridley — in the consolation finals at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Paradise, meanwhile, drops into the seventh-place game, where it'll take on Gridley in the opener Saturday.

Hight admitted that he's frustrated with the team's 1-12 start to the season, given the shape Paradise is in and the amount of talent it has on its roster. The Bobcats tipped off Friday's contest with two of its leaders in fine fashion. Senior forward Tom Hays scored eight of his team-high 14 points and pulled down six of his eight rebounds, while junior Jonathan Dixon added five points and senior Jay Dance dropped in a 3 for a 20-19 lead through one quarter.

The early advantage wouldn't hold for long, as LP junior A.J. Cahee swished a 3 midway through the second quarter, pushing the T'birds back in front for the game's sixth lead change, 26-24.

Dixon, by far the biggest player on the court, outweighing the beefiest Thunderbird by 15 pounds, came back with one of his eight rebounds, and then proceeded to deliver a couple nice pump fakes, before converting the basket and drawing the foul for an eventual three-point play and 31-30 Paradise lead.

LP managed to put together a 6-1 run after that, capped by a Jess Little putback over senior Justin Gist to jump the T'birds ahead at halftime 36-32.

In the second half, LP went back to Maturino, and the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder swished home a pair of putbacks for an early 42-36 lead 5 minutes, 45 seconds into the third quarter. Not long after that, the T'birds extended it to double-digits, courtesy of another 3 from Maturino and steal and layup by senior Brendan Matheson, to push LP ahead of Paradise 51-40.

"I think that was his big breakout performance," said Las Plumas coach Allie Bruce on Maturino. "This game was the first one where we've all been healthy. We got Jordan Collins back, our 6-foot-4 post and team captain. He had I think 11 points, several rebounds and defensively he was a key."

The Bobcats fell behind by 19 early in the fourth quarter, which allowed Hight to empty his bench and get ready to concede the team's 10th straight defeat.

"It's frustrating and I feel like we're getting in better shape but we're still not to the point where we're able to close," he said. "All we can do is keep working hard and try and get on the winning side of things. We've had a long losing streak here, and it'll be nice to get a win under our belt and get some positive momentum before league."

Paradise begins Eastern Athletic League play at home against Oroville on Jan. 16.